A Leader's Sacrifices
by Icey the Fox
Summary: The Leader: Marche. His Sacrifices: His friends. What he would say to them: Read on. Rated for mildly mature themes.


Note: This is a direct result of my own musings in my writing journal to try and understand Marche's motivations, because it seems to be something that confuses all of us. This is what I imagine he would say if he got a chance to speak to the other three young characters who remembered the past. Because I'm too lazy to upload all of them at once (and I want to draw this out), I'll do it in three separate chapters over a week or so. Enjoy. Or be confused. Whatever, just give me feedback.

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I don't know why you're against me. I honestly cannot understand it. Back in St Ivalice, it always seemed like you were standing up for me. Now, all of a sudden, I've gotta stand up to you. It's just odd.

From the moment we met, I knew that we were different. As radically different as possible. I was sitting with Mewt at my desk. We were just… talking. About what, I don't remember. What did we used to talk about? Whatever. Then, that boy… I can't even remember his name anymore. Was it Colin? Yeah, that's it. He came over, and he started talking about Mewt. At first, I thought they were making fun of him because… because his mother was dead. Who could do that? What kind of person…

Anyways, I wanted to say something. And I did. Or at least, I started to, but guess what happened? That's right, I froze. Why is that I always froze back then, but now I'm leading a revolution?

Well, then they started in on me again. The way they always did. Making fun of me. They said… I guess it doesn't matter what they said about me. What did matter, however, was that _you _showed up. I'd noticed you earlier. Well, who couldn't? Your hair's pink. Fuchsia and super bright. It always looked so odd and out of place.

Sorry, I shouldn't be commenting on your hair right now. Anyways, you just came over, and like it was nothing, you put Colin in his place. Probably the most impressive thing was that not only did you totally make him look like a fool, but if he had challenged you to a fight, you would've gone right there. Not only _would _you take him on, but you _could _take him on.

I always found that kind of inspirational about you. The way you could fight for what you believed in. Strong, smart. You must have been the most confident person I'd ever met.

And now we're here. When I saw you there, by the river, swinging around that rapier… so elegant. So powerful. I didn't say it at the time, because Montblanc and Shara were there, but I think you could've taken me down easy. I mean, I'm pretty good with my sword, and I've been working on mastering my paladin magic lately. But I didn't stand a chance. We came there to back you guys up, but you could've handled it. Together, you and Shara would've ripped them apart, no trouble at all. Me and Montblanc? If the two of us had taken them on, we'd be rotting in that river right now.

Still, how is it that you're so… so much? A fighter, a leader, a diplomat, a dancer… Yes, a dancer. That's what it's like when you fight. If it were at all possible, you make war seem… beautiful. Such an oxymoron.

But that sums you up. Oxymoronic. I've seen how smart you are when you're defending those weaker than you, and I've seen you bite off way more than you could ever chew and be forced to call for backup. I've seen you laughing the most pure and magical laugh I've ever heard, and I've felt the stony glare of your eyes cutting into me. I've seen you take on over a dozen bangaa at once without batting an eyelid, and I've seen you kneeling in the snow crying, your tears freezing as they touched the snow.

Yeah, I saw that. I'm sorry, I was just walking by the school, and I heard you. I came over to see if you wanted to do something, and there you were, in the back. I would have gone over to talk to you, but I couldn't. It scared me to see you so vulnerable. You're immortal to me. It just didn't make sense.

Look, I know that we're on opposite sides of this conflict. I know that it's inevitable, but here's the thing:

I don't want to fight you. I don't want to attack you. I don't want to feel the steel of your rapier ringing against the steel of my knightsword. I don't want to use my holy powers to strike at you. I don't want to feel your magic burning my skin. For better or worse, I… I…

I'm your friend. Even if we do fight, please remember that. I would literally kill anybody who ever hurt you.

The question is: can I kill myself?


End file.
